Uconn

Lewis: Huskies' backcourt off its game By Lee Lewis Republican-American

Connecticut's Ryan Boatright, and coaches Ricky Moore, and Kevin Freeman, left to right, react late in their team's 70-61 loss to Villanova in an NCAA college basketball game in Hartford, Conn., Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

HARTFORD -- You kept waiting for it to come, the second-half explosion that would propel the Huskies to a come-from-behind win and shake the XL Center to its core ... but it never did.

No, Saturday all of the weaknesses of this plucky UConn team were exposed by an even more determined Villanova team desperate for a quality road win. The Wildcats were relentless, just like the Huskies had been a few nights earlier, and clawed their way to an important (for them) victory.

"You have to win on the road against good teams," said Villanova coach Jay Wright, resplendent and smooth as always. "You can talk about it all you want ... but you have to go do it."

And Wright's team did, gaining easily its most impressive road win of the season, 70-61. In fact, if someone had the time or energy to count missed layups by the visitors, the final count could have been even wider. Of course, that's what happens when you own such a huge advantage in rebounding (20-5 in offensive boards): You get lots of chances at the rim.

As for Connecticut, this was a puzzling loss in a way since these players had been so resilient and tough in upsetting a far-better Syracuse team at midweek. Everything that went right that night in Hartford didn't connect for Saturday's matinee. (Perhaps they were distracted by the dog show going on next door in the XL Center.)

Coming into this season, two things were crystal-clear about the Huskies:

1. They had no inside presence of note and could be dominated there.

2. Their backcourt would be as good as any in the nation.

Certainly both of those facts have played out as envisioned, with the starting guards carrying UConn to its impressive success to date.

But when the guards struggle, as they did against Villanova, the Huskies are in trouble. Big trouble. Shabazz Napier (two points, 10 assists) and Ryan Boatright (four points, all late, and five turnovers), in particular, have been mostly sensational this season. Yet, for many reasons, in this game they were not.

"(Villanova) just played good defense (against Napier and Boatright)," said UConn coach Kevin Ollie.

Added Wright, "We played them as a team. Sometimes we trapped them, sometimes we denied them, sometimes we switched on screens. We just had to focus on those two."

And it worked.

What is interesting is why other teams have not been as successful. Obviously, Syracuse Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim knew that Napier and Boatright were the key to the Huskies, as did 22 coaches before him, yet the two UConn guards have still been able to carry their team to 17 wins.

It seems that should be the takeaway from this loss to Villanova. Not that the UConn frontcourt got dominated. (We figured that would happen most nights; that it hasn't on some occasions is a credit to players like Niels Giffey and DeAndre Daniels.) And not that Napier and Boatright had an off day. (It happens to all athletes.)

No, the bottom line here should be to recognize just how brilliant the Huskies' guards, including freshman Omar Calhoun, have been this season as a whole. UConn has won 17 games with a very realistic shot at 20-plus by season's end, and even in a loss the reason for that success is clear.

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